How to Write Video Game Music

[Rydaholic]

Hey! First off, big like on your video!:) Sounds very genuine.

I was wondering how you start your project? Do you find your theme first or create the entire backbone of drums then add on melody?

Kind regards

Rydaholic

[Nightdargor]

Very damn helpful, I really appreciate this video, it helped me a lot with a project I have and I need to create a background audio.

[hootbutler]

this was very helpful, i really appreciate it!

[BlackAtticEnt]

Using the galloping pace of horses you observed to set the beat is very creative. This was a pretty helpful little video, as it showed me how simple a successful track can be. Thank you for the upload!

[ProdSounds1]

This is absolutely amazing. I love it!

Thank you for your tips. Helped me out a lot!

[hearZ212]

Ok this probably sounds stupid but when I look up world music jam pack I see it labeled for GarageBand, is there a different version that's for logic? Or does it matter?

[JGGC95I]

I find this insightful, yet I have another question. In terms of theory are you just basically staking on one tone/chord? I would really appreciate an answer since I'm getting ready to tackle a project myself. I just cant seem to grasp how to make a track, maybe because I'm so used to progressing when I write. Any help or advice would be greatly appreciated.

[kmacleodmusic]

@JGGC95I Progress or don't... It is easiest to stay away from modulations, as you'd need a significant amount of no-chord time to loop back to the beginning, unless you modulate back to the original chord.

[JGGC95I]

@kmacleodmusic So then it would be best to stay within the selected key and follow whatever desired chord progression the composer has in mind? In your opinion of course.

[JGGC95I]

@kmacleodmusic For example, I'm gonna have to guess this piece is written in em, and sticks to that tone up until 1:25, where it changes to am and then goes back to em. If that's the case then is it safe to take the same approach in major keys?

[dembonez19]

Well... I always have good ideas for songs, but I can never actually put them together because I'm too cheap and can't actually buy the soundfonts I need. :(

This was still helpful. It's just a shame nothing I think of will become reality. :P

[johetus]

It was nice to watch this! I am just starting my career as video game composer, do you have any advices? :)

[TheDeRaj397]

this was cool man, I'm thinking about becoming a composer for games

[johetus]

Thanks, I have waited for these kind of advices!

[Avizura]

Sounds like Rayman Revolution

[DreamAdventurer]

Thanks for this, it was quite helpful.

[AMIELrenaissance]

where's the download link?

[wobstuff]

Cheers for the Advice, very useful! :)

[coollein]

This sure gave me some ideas.

But I've always had a problem with getting quality sound, since I still go to school and can't afford the more expensive ones.

Oh well, I hope it gets better

[mattnlondon]

damn this is sick!

[RealStylah17]

I like it very much, do you know where composer can sell Video Game Score/Instrumentals/Music ?

[Hunter725R]

You Sir are AWESOME!

[kefkef5]

Hey man, Nice Song!

First, I always loved gilm and game music, but for 3 months now, I've been wondering, why can't i compose it myself?

Second, I see you use Logic for this. I don't have a Mac, so are there any good programs out there that have the same power as Logic?

I don't want to spend money on buying a Mac, since I'm buying a piano.

[M3sslah]

@kefkef5 Just get Cubase 5 or 6 and you are good to go.

[kefkef5]

@M3sslah

I figured out that one already. Aparently I can get a free trial when I buy equipment of their company. Thanks anyways!

[ReclusiveArts]

awesome tune!

[rockontomm]

what is that music , like it alot...

[XCalibur181]

great video!!!

[SoundCOn]

two other good resources for writing video game music The Game Audio Network Guild is a group of game audio professionals. GameSoundCon is a conference on video game music and sound design. There's also a great web site, gamessound with a lot of scholarly articles and references on game audio

[DJDrSciFi]

Inspired!

[nutharvest]

great track and clear explanation, also very well presented visually!

[EnokiSkai]

Well this is music for one type one video game of course as said earlier in the video. Console games have music which leads somewhere, which is what i'm going for sometimes. I'd classify this as ambient videogame music

[madmomentsgo]

great tips, thank you, love this track.

5/5

[Jobatone]

i have about 6 songs to write for Monday,

FML.

But this has helped clear some of the ''what should i do'' questions :)

Thanks

[IntrepidMoocher]

Nice. Interesting to hear your thought processes in deciding what voices to use etc.

[aznivx]

wow this sounds nice!

[Chrosome]

David Revoy

[halfprice06]

This was quite helpful, im a freshman studying music theory and composition and it's neat to see anothers creative process

[pokerockmario123]

Very nice! it sounds like a track from "Rayman Revolution" or "Starfox Adventures"! Very nice work! (and thank you for the tutorial)

[DrRZ1024]

Cool, I love your approach to what to include... tho I think flutes aren't that much more complicated than harps, and tambourines are piece of cake to build. XD

How do you export it to loop seamlessly? I can't find a way to make Logic do that. Do you export the whole thing, end tails included, and cut it up in an audio editor?

[kmmusic]

For delivery, I loop the thing three times, and then import and chop out the center section so all the reverbs match up.

[matthewdoucette]

love it, thx

[Tcapac]

Sounds good. Thanks for the details at the end. Just curious though, how did you get into the game industry?

[kmmusic]

I don't know that I'm in the game industry. I do far more short films than video games. Actually, I do more plays and musicals than video games. I write lots of music for everything and everyone. Video games are just another angle with different challenges.

[frillikin]

Thanks so much! I like your music!

I'd like to try the same kind of thing, but only have experience writing and performing concert music. Do you think Logic is the best way to go? Also, I have an IBM, but have heard it's best to switch to Mac. Do you agree?

[MajorFilmMusic]

Hey man great music there really good quality... Im a film composer and I also use Logic pro ... So visit my channel and check out my music and let me know what you think :)

[smbhax]

Thanks, your music has been a life-saver for me! I'd love to see even more of how you come up with your ideas and bring them to life.

[oldschool31]

Thanks, nice to see how things come together.

[stevenfoust]

Excellent! It really captures the mystical nature of centaurs. I'll be sure to keep these tips in mind if I ever write video game music!

[tomken8dy]

Extremely cool, Kevin.

You took six hours of maddeningly tedious

work and made it look good.

Hell, it IS cool !!

[cascadezero]

do you notate your music before putting it into a sequencer (such as logic like in the video)?

i keep seeing vids where it isn't obvious if notation has been used in the writing progress and i'm curious to find out if many people other than myself and a few others on youtube still have notes on a staff first lol

[JustAnotherX]

Hey Kevin. Very nice. I couldn't help myself singing an extra voice over the female centaur one. Yay.

Inspiring is what they call it, eh?

[bloknotedotnl]

Sounds good!

[Janzah]

very nice! sounds good.

how much did you get payed for writing this song? (i'm a beginning songwriter, i'm just curious)

[jeremiahjacobs]

Yes, this was helpful. :) Always interesting to get some insight into how other people do their work.

Really liked the bit about watching horses to get the rhythm. Sometimes the simplest creative inputs elude us.

[CastfireTheAwesome]

Do you use Mac?

I do and it would be GREAT if you do too, then I could make a [crappy attempt at] some music.

[kmmusic]

Yes.

See 2:20 mark for all the hardware/software involved.

[CastfireTheAwesome]

Thank you! :)

[raquelle08]

wow i like this it sounds cool

[Rydaholic]

Hey! First off, big like on your video!:) Sounds very genuine.

I was wondering how you start your project? Do you find your theme first or create the entire backbone of drums then add on melody?

Kind regards

Rydaholic

[Nightdargor]

Very damn helpful, I really appreciate this video, it helped me a lot with a project I have and I need to create a background audio.

[hootbutler]

this was very helpful, i really appreciate it!

[BlackAtticEnt]

Using the galloping pace of horses you observed to set the beat is very creative. This was a pretty helpful little video, as it showed me how simple a successful track can be. Thank you for the upload!

[ProdSounds1]

This is absolutely amazing. I love it!

Thank you for your tips. Helped me out a lot!

[hearZ212]

Ok this probably sounds stupid but when I look up world music jam pack I see it labeled for GarageBand, is there a different version that's for logic? Or does it matter?

[JGGC95I]

I find this insightful, yet I have another question. In terms of theory are you just basically staking on one tone/chord? I would really appreciate an answer since I'm getting ready to tackle a project myself. I just cant seem to grasp how to make a track, maybe because I'm so used to progressing when I write. Any help or advice would be greatly appreciated.

[kmacleodmusic]

@JGGC95I Progress or don't... It is easiest to stay away from modulations, as you'd need a significant amount of no-chord time to loop back to the beginning, unless you modulate back to the original chord.

[JGGC95I]

@kmacleodmusic So then it would be best to stay within the selected key and follow whatever desired chord progression the composer has in mind? In your opinion of course.

[JGGC95I]

@kmacleodmusic For example, I'm gonna have to guess this piece is written in em, and sticks to that tone up until 1:25, where it changes to am and then goes back to em. If that's the case then is it safe to take the same approach in major keys?

[dembonez19]

Well... I always have good ideas for songs, but I can never actually put them together because I'm too cheap and can't actually buy the soundfonts I need. :(

This was still helpful. It's just a shame nothing I think of will become reality. :P

[johetus]

It was nice to watch this! I am just starting my career as video game composer, do you have any advices? :)

[TheDeRaj397]

this was cool man, I'm thinking about becoming a composer for games

[johetus]

Thanks, I have waited for these kind of advices!

[Avizura]

Sounds like Rayman Revolution

[DreamAdventurer]

Thanks for this, it was quite helpful.

[AMIELrenaissance]

where's the download link?

[wobstuff]

Cheers for the Advice, very useful! :)

[coollein]

This sure gave me some ideas.

But I've always had a problem with getting quality sound, since I still go to school and can't afford the more expensive ones.

Oh well, I hope it gets better

[mattnlondon]

damn this is sick!

[RealStylah17]

I like it very much, do you know where composer can sell Video Game Score/Instrumentals/Music ?

[Hunter725R]

You Sir are AWESOME!

[kefkef5]

Hey man, Nice Song!

First, I always loved gilm and game music, but for 3 months now, I've been wondering, why can't i compose it myself?

Second, I see you use Logic for this. I don't have a Mac, so are there any good programs out there that have the same power as Logic?

I don't want to spend money on buying a Mac, since I'm buying a piano.

[M3sslah]

@kefkef5 Just get Cubase 5 or 6 and you are good to go.

[kefkef5]

@M3sslah

I figured out that one already. Aparently I can get a free trial when I buy equipment of their company. Thanks anyways!

[ReclusiveArts]

awesome tune!

[rockontomm]

what is that music , like it alot...

[XCalibur181]

great video!!!

[SoundCOn]

two other good resources for writing video game music The Game Audio Network Guild is a group of game audio professionals. GameSoundCon is a conference on video game music and sound design. There's also a great web site, gamessound with a lot of scholarly articles and references on game audio

[DJDrSciFi]

Inspired!

[nutharvest]

great track and clear explanation, also very well presented visually!

[EnokiSkai]

Well this is music for one type one video game of course as said earlier in the video. Console games have music which leads somewhere, which is what i'm going for sometimes. I'd classify this as ambient videogame music

[madmomentsgo]

great tips, thank you, love this track.

5/5

[Jobatone]

i have about 6 songs to write for Monday,

FML.

But this has helped clear some of the ''what should i do'' questions :)

Thanks

[IntrepidMoocher]

Nice. Interesting to hear your thought processes in deciding what voices to use etc.

[aznivx]

wow this sounds nice!

[Chrosome]

David Revoy

[halfprice06]

This was quite helpful, im a freshman studying music theory and composition and it's neat to see anothers creative process

[pokerockmario123]

Very nice! it sounds like a track from "Rayman Revolution" or "Starfox Adventures"! Very nice work! (and thank you for the tutorial)

[DrRZ1024]

Cool, I love your approach to what to include... tho I think flutes aren't that much more complicated than harps, and tambourines are piece of cake to build. XD

How do you export it to loop seamlessly? I can't find a way to make Logic do that. Do you export the whole thing, end tails included, and cut it up in an audio editor?

[kmmusic]

For delivery, I loop the thing three times, and then import and chop out the center section so all the reverbs match up.

[matthewdoucette]

love it, thx

[Tcapac]

Sounds good. Thanks for the details at the end. Just curious though, how did you get into the game industry?

[kmmusic]

I don't know that I'm in the game industry. I do far more short films than video games. Actually, I do more plays and musicals than video games. I write lots of music for everything and everyone. Video games are just another angle with different challenges.

[frillikin]

Thanks so much! I like your music!

I'd like to try the same kind of thing, but only have experience writing and performing concert music. Do you think Logic is the best way to go? Also, I have an IBM, but have heard it's best to switch to Mac. Do you agree?

[MajorFilmMusic]

Hey man great music there really good quality... Im a film composer and I also use Logic pro ... So visit my channel and check out my music and let me know what you think :)

[smbhax]

Thanks, your music has been a life-saver for me! I'd love to see even more of how you come up with your ideas and bring them to life.

[oldschool31]

Thanks, nice to see how things come together.

[stevenfoust]

Excellent! It really captures the mystical nature of centaurs. I'll be sure to keep these tips in mind if I ever write video game music!

[tomken8dy]

Extremely cool, Kevin.

You took six hours of maddeningly tedious

work and made it look good.

Hell, it IS cool !!

[cascadezero]

do you notate your music before putting it into a sequencer (such as logic like in the video)?

i keep seeing vids where it isn't obvious if notation has been used in the writing progress and i'm curious to find out if many people other than myself and a few others on youtube still have notes on a staff first lol

[JustAnotherX]

Hey Kevin. Very nice. I couldn't help myself singing an extra voice over the female centaur one. Yay.

Inspiring is what they call it, eh?

[bloknotedotnl]

Sounds good!

[Janzah]

very nice! sounds good.

how much did you get payed for writing this song? (i'm a beginning songwriter, i'm just curious)

[jeremiahjacobs]

Yes, this was helpful. :) Always interesting to get some insight into how other people do their work.

Really liked the bit about watching horses to get the rhythm. Sometimes the simplest creative inputs elude us.

[CastfireTheAwesome]

Do you use Mac?

I do and it would be GREAT if you do too, then I could make a [crappy attempt at] some music.

[kmmusic]

Yes.

See 2:20 mark for all the hardware/software involved.

[CastfireTheAwesome]

Thank you! :)

[raquelle08]

wow i like this it sounds cool

[BattlefieldDoktor]

Was really interesting to hear about these details and the song sounds awesome!

Also interesting to know about the used programs. I want to try out to create some music stuff soon ... I have a CMS Keyboard (can use the demo of Reason 4 and Analog Factory with it), Magix Samplitude to record, Magix Music Maker to puzzle it into one piece ... far away not such good software as you are using ... but I am a n00b ;o)

[ProFriend]

That was incredibly interesting to see the anatomy of the music - the thought processes and decisions made in creating it. Many thanks!

[Dynamoace]

Interesting study. Can you recommend any web based solutions to music creation, i know one (Jamglue) but are their any others that you have come across?

[kmmusic]

I didn't know they existed! Music production is one of those things that I thought would never translate to the web. I'm going to go check out Jamglue, though!

[tavin15]

it's acctually realy helpfull , can you also recommend some cheap (better free) software for that purpose?

[kmmusic]

Yes! GarageBand is free, and really, really good. It is almost spooky how good it is. GarageBand exposes some very high-end audio processing, and makes it very easy to use.

[tavin15]

But it's only for Mac's right?

[kmmusic]

Yeah, it is the only one I know that is good and free. It looks like there may be some other people around here who know this stuff.

Maybe they can help!

[Totalidiocy]

Mixcraft is, functionally, almost identical to Garageband. But it's not free. It's 65 USD.

[tavin15]

thanks for the hint, but that's a little too expensive for me

[Totalidiocy]

Let me know if you find cheaper. Too expensive for me too...

[Totalidiocy]

Mixcraft is, functionally, almost identical to Garageband. But it's not free. It's 65 USD.

[tavin15]

thanks for the hint, but that's a little too expensive for me

[Totalidiocy]

Let me know if you find cheaper. Too expensive for me too...

[BillyBughead]

Wow. This is really good. What game will it be in, or can't you divulge that yet?

I would love it if something like this wound up in Guild Wars 2.0

[kmmusic]

I can say that it isn't Guild Wars... Though it looks similar. I'll keep you all informed, though!

[CasualDaveDotCom]

yes, this was helpful, thank you! Names and e-mail addresses of who to submit my music to would be great too ;) This is what I'm trying to get into and I think about this structure when I'm playing a game but then I write to movie clips and they come out not very loopable. Thanks for the tips and breakdown. I love seeing other peoples creative processes. I really dig that galloping groove!

[GuruMN]

Whoa, this is cool and well worth the time!!

Is this CC Attribution 3.0? Is the title Centaurs?

[kmmusic]

It is not yet titled or released. I just finished it off today. It will certainly be released when the game ships... I'm guessing 6-9 months.

Just need to figure out what dragon music sounds like now...

[PuppyZwolle]

Dragon music... I figure they'd use their blowholes. There is this famous experiment where the made musical instruments based on dinosaur skulls to get an idea what they sounded like. They had a huge bent pipe that made an almost elephant like 'toot' sound.

/watch?v=_M7bcz9M5Yg&feature=r­elated

An idea perhaps?

[PuppyZwolle]

I just found it:

/watch?v=d-tRFuMdQkA

This is the sound I was refering to.

[GuruMN]

I was asking about this specific audio track of this video, is this audio track not released as CC Att 3.0?

[kmmusic]

This piece is not yet titled nor released under any CC license. Email me if you have specific need for this piece.

Cheers!

[GuruMN]

I was asking about this specific audio track of this video, is this audio track not released as CC Att 3.0?

[kmmusic]

This piece is not yet titled nor released under any CC license. Email me if you have specific need for this piece.

Cheers!

[PuppyZwolle]

It works perfectly. Very nice piece.

Love the 'you are here' gag. I can even imagine a calender with that message on it. ;^)

[kmmusic]

I didn't think of it as a gag, actually.

I once famously referred to a calendar as "the map with the days on it", because I forgot the word "calendar".

Space, Time... same deal. You can transform between them! :-)

[PuppyZwolle]

*nods*

Space Time and Perception. Three sides to the same but very strange coin. ;^)

[PuppyZwolle]

Heh heh, I know. But I can not 'read' that stuff so to me it was a 'linear temporal variation' of that sign in the desert. A yellow rectangle with just one arrow on it with the line:" You are here".

Space time and perception;

Three sides to the same (but very weird) coin.

[Braehawk]

Hmm...pretty cool.

[nate3po]

Hey, this was actually very interesting.